


Like Poetry, Like Water, Like Time

by thiefwithoutaname



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Kimi no Na wa AU, M/M, Soulmates, Your Name AU, body switching, don’t worry about it though everything turns out fine I promise, that sounds fake but it’s not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 18:49:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13886973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiefwithoutaname/pseuds/thiefwithoutaname
Summary: “No matter where you may end up in this world, I will always be searching for you.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I watched Your Name several times and the significance of names and of unspoken bonds in that movie, and also in this podcast made me cry. So I figured, why not combine them so I can cry about both at the same time.

The first hint Juno got that he woke up in the wrong body was the lack of pain in his back. He felt relaxed, for the first time in a long time. Then came everything else. When his eyes opened he realized his vision was a blur, and then he actually looked around. Despite the poor eyesight, he could tell this wasn’t his apartment. The sheets felt way too nice and way too clean for one, and everything was the wrong colors and shapes. He reached out to the nightstand and felt around for his comms, but came back with glasses. He figured putting them on wouldn’t hurt, and when he did he could see clearly. He kicked off the blankets and scrambled out of bed. When he stood he was significantly taller than normal, and thinner he noted when he looked down at his body. 

He looked around for a door, a mirror, a comms, anything that might help him. There were two doors; One, he figured, was the exit, and the other was open a crack. Inside was a bathroom, filled with what looked like no personal effects besides some hair gel and a bottle of cologne. He was sure he was in a hotel room, but how he ended up in the body of a man in a hotel room he didn’t know. He looked in the mirror and _woah._ The man in the mirror definitely wasn’t Juno. He was handsome, for one, with bright eyes and sharp teeth. Those teeth. He pressed his tongue up against the point of his incisor and felt its sharpness. Christ. 

Now that he thoroughly found the body he was in attractive, he realized he still didn’t know what the hell was going on. He sets the glasses on the bathroom counter and splashes water on his face. 

“God… what the fuck” 

That voice wasn’t his either, but it was just another thing he liked about the man whose face he was wearing. Juno’s had some pretty weird experiences in his lifetime, but going to bed and waking up in the body of an insanely hot man had to take the cake. He put the glasses back on and stared at the mirror a little longer. This had to be a dream or something, right? No one existed like this in real life. He marches out of the bathroom to inspect the rest of the hotel room. 

After digging through drawers and a small travel bag that had his face on a bunch of different passports, he decided that the man he was today was a criminal of some sort. Why else would he carry so many different forms of identification with all different names on them? He had also put on a nice button up and dress pants because that’s all this man seemed to own (besides some rather extravagant and flashy clothing Juno would rather not think about wearing). This man was a handsome, affluent, well-dressed criminal and god damn it Juno was really into it. 

The only thing that bothered him was for all his digging he couldn’t find this man’s name. All of the forged identities were impeccable, one no more real than the other. No names stood out although they all seemed to fit in the same pattern (royalty and then a noun, it was a great formula for a fake identity apparently). If he was going to be stuck in a man like this, he’d like to know his real name. As far as he knows he has no way of figuring it out. 

The only thing left for him to do was leave the hotel room and try to go about his day as this man without a name. He slid the bag over his shoulder and huffed. He didn’t know what there was to do or even what planet he was on, but he was going to try to go about this man’s day? It was nuts. But it beat staying in the hotel room all day. 

He turns for the door and walks out into the hotel hallway with the most determination he can muster. 

\- 

Peter woke up crying from a dream he couldn’t remember. When he finally calmed himself down he was laying in his hotel bed, but many things were off. For instance, his glasses were still on when he usually takes them off for bed (it was making it rather difficult to wipe away tears). Also, there was an nearly empty bottle of whiskey on the bedside table. Peter doesn’t drink whiskey. 

Somebody has been in Peter’s room. Or rather somebody has been in Caesar Till’s room. 

He gets out of bed and he’s still in yesterday’s clothes. Yes, something had definitely happened yesterday. When he went to search his memories though, his brain came up with nothing. Perhaps he had been drugged. That in it of itself raised questions. 

Why was he in his hotel room unharmed? Why had… whoever was messing with him left an empty bottle behind? Why was there seemingly no damage done even though the day before today was completely blank? 

He walks to the bathroom to splash water on his face and to collect himself. He had to figure out what his next move was if this identity and this heist had been compromised. When he went in there he took a minute to look at himself in the mirror. What in the world was he wearing? He looked like a mess and not just because his clothes were wrinkled from him sleeping on them. They were mismatched shades of black. So someone had taken the time to drug him, dress him in mismatched clothing, tuck him into bed, and drink an entire bottle of whiskey. Improbable, but not entirely out of reason. 

He walks back out into the room determined to get to the bottom of why his memory was blank. He goes immediately to grab his comms. When he opens it however he sees a note open on it. 

’Who are you?’ 

After reading the question over a few more times he feels paranoia creeping up on him. Who had left this note for him? 

He deletes the text, and then leaves another note for the hacker who apparently could communicate through the notes feature on his phone. He hoped he’d get an answer back from this person soon. He needed answers if he was going to move on from this. 

‘Caesar Till. And who exactly, are you?’ 

\- 

“And you were actin’ like you didn’t know me! And, and, oh Mistah Steel I was just so worried for ya! Please don’t be mad!” 

“Ugh, Rita, just unlock my apartment for me alright?” he was holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger. He couldn’t blame Rita, from the sound of it he was really out of it yesterday. 

“Boss… I just need to make sure you’re okay. You understand, right? You can’t go around pretending not to know who you are anymore! You’ll give me heart palpitations!” Rita said into the comms. Regardless Juno heard the door to his apartment unlock. 

“Rita, I’m fine alright? It must have just been… an off day,” he knows that’s not quite right. Apparently he had had a freak out of massive proportions. He had never been grateful before for the automatic locks that Rita had installed on his doors, but today he was glad Rita hadn’t let him out. There was no telling what he might have done if he had been allowed to go about his business as usual. 

He remembered the weird dream he had spent as that man. He hadn’t done any more than purchase a bottle of expensive whiskey and get shitfaced while he watched TV all day, but it was weird that it hadn’t just been him doing those incredibly mundane tasks. Maybe he subconsciously longed to be a sexy intergalactic man of intrigue. Fuck if he knows. 

“Well! Take today off too alright? Get some rest, I don’t want you to completely lose your marbles on me!” She pauses uncomfortable, “I’m just kiddin’ ya, Mistah Steel. Feel better, okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he hangs up the comms. He’s frustrated that apparently now he was finally detaching from reality. He walks to the kitchen and is shocked again to see that everything had been cleaned. Apparently he had been on a cleaning kick yesterday because the whole apartment was now spotless. He even smelled good today, how he worked up the nerve to take a shower was beyond him, but it felt… good. His brain felt a little less fuzzy with everything clean. He felt like he could finally relax here. 

He thought about that other man from his dreams. He tries to imagine what he might be doing right now. It was kind of funny on the day he decided to clock out of his own body, he dreamt about spending the day as someone else. It was a strange coincidence, even weird enough that he might have considered they switched bodies. But as if that’d ever happen. Get real, Juno, that shit only happens on streams. 

\- 

Peter woke up in the body of the other man again. He knew it was again, he knew he’d forget this dream when he was awake. His muscles ached like he hadn’t relaxed in years. Today, he was going to do something about that. 

The last time he had embodied this other person he’d gotten himself locked in the apartment by.. who? A friend? It had to be a friend based on how concerned she’d sounded. It would have been almost sweet if she had given him any hint at all as to what exactly was going on. Maybe she didn’t know. In any case, he spent his last day in this body practicing cleanliness and personal hygiene. Peter suspected this person didn’t have much mental energy to perform simple tasks himself. 

The worst part was the shower. Not because he didn’t like what he was seeing in the mirror or anything, but moreso because he just felt wrong seeing someone else's body unclothed without them present. This man was covered in scars, like he had been in a thousand fights gone wrong. It made him look ruggedly handsome, and charming in a way. Peter like him better when he didn’t smell like cheap alcohol and stale sweat. 

Today Peter showered again, and dressed him. There was a stylish but comfortable sundress in the closet that looked like it hadn’t been worn before. He looked through that whole closet to get some kind of a clue about who he was. Femininely inclined, and married perhaps? No, the wedding gown was hidden in the back of a closet. A marriage gone awry? There was about five or six trench coats who had all looked like they’d been battered nearly as much as their wearer. That told him very little so he went through the pockets of the coats. 

He found some loose change and extra blaster cartridges. So he used a gun as his weapon of choice. There was no telling for what or why he used it, but he certainly had to have one. He checked the coat that was dumped unceremoniously on the floor and pulled out a wallet. Finally they were getting somewhere. 

When he opened the wallet the first thing he noted was how little was in it. This man didn’t have a lot, which was probably why he kept the coats despite how battered they were. Neat. He kept digging and found a driver's license for a ‘Juno Steel’. So this body came with a name. The birthday told him he was 38 years old, almost 39, coming up in a few months. Most importantly it also told him that he was on Mars, in Hyperion City to be exact. Juno scowled in his driver’s license picture. Charming. 

He pulls out Juno’s comms and opens it. He starts searching for more information on Juno Steel, Hyperion City. He came up in the PI registry and his name was also listed under the Hyperion City Police Department. According to a few local news sources, he was fired from the police force about a decade ago however. The police records were old. Also his name showed up in an obituary for someone named Benzaiten Steel. He didn’t look at that one out of respect for some privacy. 

So he was living in the body of an anxious ex-cop turned private investigator. Funny how the universe plays tricks. Of course a master thief would end up in the body of a private eye. In any case, the detective was suffering from a severe case of muscle strain and Peter couldn’t take it anymore. He decided to venture out and see what Hyperion City had to offer in the way of stress relief. 

\- 

When Peter wakes up again he’s groggy. He doesn’t feel like he slept well the last night. He finds when he tries to remember yesterday, yet again his memory is blank. There is another empty bottle of whiskey on his bedside table. 

If he checks his bank account he knows he’ll see that he purchased the whiskey himself. If he asks the hotel staff they’ll say he asked for the whiskey himself. If he checks the hotel surveillance systems he’ll see that nobody but him and the hotel staff have come up to this room. Something was wrong with Peter himself. 

He sits up on the side of the bed and leans over. The anxiety threatening to overcome him was being held back by his own steady breathing. He focused on it and closes his eyes, it was easier to focus when he didn’t have to look at anything. 

He opens his eyes again and grabs his comms to check the notes and see if this mysterious hacker has struck again. Instead of an answer he can comprehend, all he has in his notes is a name. 

‘Juno Steel’ 

The memories of it come rushing back. He spent the last day in the body of a detective named Juno Steel. But if he was there and Juno was here then did that mean… 

\- 

It had been a few days of the same weird dream where Juno was a sexy rich man with a million names who could afford to order room service and nice whiskey before the note appeared on his phone. It could have been innocuous, something stupid he wrote in his “moods” as Rita called them. It could have been nothing, if not for the name. 

‘This is Caesar Till. I’d like to politely request that you stop wasting my money on liquor.’ 

That was what the man in the dream was going by. If that man had left the note yesterday, while Juno had been living it up in that hotel room, then the man had been here. Rita has been complaining that he just hasn’t been himself lately. There were huge blocks of his memory that were missing when he finally came back to himself. The evidence was all there. Either he was finally losing it, or when Juno goes to sleep he and this mystery man were switching bodies.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! If you’re reading this, thank you so much for reading this story. I’m having a lot of fun writing and I’m so so happy about the positive feedback I’ve received! 
> 
> If anyone ever wants to talk to me about Penumbra AUs (bc I have a billion) come talk to me @thiefwithoutaname on tumblr!

‘So am I ever going to get your name or are you going to keep using these stupid aliases? -J’

‘... I can’t give you my name. My anonymity is what keeps me alive. But as we may be working together for a while, I’ll give you a hint. Sincerely, P’ 

\- 

They had been switching bodies back and forth for weeks now. It was always the same, most of the week was spent normally in the right body, but for a few days they would spend time as the other person. Peter was getting adjusted to Juno’s life. It was nice, in a way he had a home again for a little less than half the time. 

Juno had everything Peter could’ve wished for. He has a place that needs him, even if nobody regarded him that way, the citizens of Hyperion City owed much of their lives to Juno Steel who regularly stopped crime organizations and terrorist plots. He was so smart that way, not that Peter didn’t end up helping out sometimes. He has friends, close enough to be considered family, who loved him more than anything in the world. Juno couldn’t let himself get too close to them but Peter had made a regular habit of spending time with these people. Given that they thought he was Juno the whole time. It was just nice to have people who were happy to see him. He has a comfortable bed, a closet of clothes, little possessions scattered around an apartment that belonged to him. Juno had a home. He couldn’t admit it to himself but he wished so desperately to be a part of it. He wanted to have a home again. 

He has considered giving Juno his name, multiple times. Every single time he has to leave his initial instead it becomes an impulse in his fingertips to just type the whole thing out. It would be easy to do it, putting his own name in his own phone wouldn’t necessarily compromise his identity. He was afraid though, afraid of what Juno might find if he tried to look into it. And afraid of what might happen if Juno came to see him in real life. And afraid of what happens if he gets too attached to this stranger that just so happened to come into his life by way of magic. Peter never put much stock in fate or destiny but this whole entire experience might just be changing his perspective. 

The detective was funny and witty and charming. He was smart, Peter could tell in the way he wrote his notes and in the speed with which he solved cases. He was glad he’d never had someone like him tracking him down, because Peter wholeheartedly believed he could do it. He was fascinated by this man, the way he wrote about life and the way he wrote about himself. He was constantly surprised just how much and just how little he was willing to share. He wanted to know more, and he wanted to feel less about it. After all there’s no telling when this dreaming would come to an end. 

They’d agreed at the beginning when they’d first figured all this out to leave little notes for each other to read detailing what happened in their time away. Peter opened up his phone to see what it is exactly Juno had been doing while he was away. 

\- 

‘Another day laying around in the hotel room. I know you don’t want me compromising your identity or whatever, but can you find something else for me to do? If I can’t drink myself into a coma there’s not much else besides watching TV. -J’ 

‘This is just the best I can think of for now. I’m so sorry you’re bored, but I’d rather not have you get me killed. If you’d like to take your shot at figuring something out, be my guest. You’re so concerned about finding something to do; how about catching up on those streams Rita recommended? Sincerely, P’ 

\- 

Below the note Peter left a list of streams that Rita had absolutely ranted about to him. He kind of hoped Juno would take an interest in them, Peter had found he’d likes them well enough. 

It would be nice, he thought, if Juno took an interest in something that wasn’t just his detective work. 

\- 

‘I spent the day with Mick today. He’s quite something Juno, you really ought to spend more time with him. He probably needs it, the way he behaves himself. He lit the stove top on fire expecting me to run in and clean up his mess. I’m sure you would’ve been more than capable but unfortunately I’m unfamiliar with the culinary arts so I just put out the fire much to his dismay. Despite the fact that this man is obviously an idiot, I think he’s catching on that I’m not you exactly. It’s something about the way he looked at me when I suggested we go out to eat. Is the idiocy an act? Sincerely, P’ 

‘No, he’s just like that. Do you seriously need to be messing with my personal relationships because uhh cut it out? Mick gets along fine without me. Hell, he’s probably better off. He probably looked at you like you were crazy because wE DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY! Stop eating out when we don’t even have enough money for rent! -J’ 

\- 

Juno had gotten into the groove of switching out with Peter, and he didn’t like how comfortable it felt. He woke up in different hotel rooms and spent his days reading or doing nothing. He frowned at the other guy’s latest suggestion to entertain himself. The day he watched one of Rita’s streams was the day hell froze over. He wouldn’t even consider it. 

He wondered how much longer of this they had left. It started suddenly so it was going to end just as suddenly, that’s just the way things were for Juno Steel. Nothing good can last, and especially not when it came to relationships. Against all odds, he’d actually started liking this arrogant, pretentious… asshole of a man. 

Juno had come to appreciate the snide remarks he left for him in the notes on his phone. Very few people had the patience to banter with Juno back and forth, but when they wrote to each other it was like they shared one mind. Juno could start a joke, sure that the other guy would finish it. It was nice, it had been… a long time since someone could play off of him like that. 

They balanced each other as well, the man was desire while Juno was logic. Juno would reign him in to stop him from spending so frivolously but he would get Juno to loosen up a little and treat himself. He didn’t think he deserved that, he’d done nothing worth a reward of even the smallest magnitude. On his own he’d give himself the barest of necessities. But with P, he got to eat cake and wear nice smelling perfume. He wanted to fight it. He really did, but it was pointless because the other man would just do whatever he wanted. Would it be bad of him to say he liked it that way? It took the effort and the guilt out of having to take care of himself if someone else was doing it for him. He felt better than he had in ages, but it felt weird to just let someone else take control. 

He was so deep in though he didn’t even realize Rita was talking to him. He had gotten way too good at tuning her out over the years. What was she saying? 

“.. and then we can sit on the roof of my apartment building and watch that comet! Franny’s going to be there too and I know you’ve been dyin’ to meet her! She said she’s going to bring chocolate chip cookies, except she makes them with extra chocolate chips so you know they’re good! And-” 

“Wait, hold on Rita? Uh… remind me, what are you talking about again?” He doesn’t remember making plans with her, but of course the other guy would always make plans with his friends. 

“Just yesterday you said before you went to hang out with Mr. Mercury that you would come to my comet watching party! Don’t tell me you forgot already because I know you didn’t! It only passes every, hmmm, thousand years? Five thousand years? I don’t know, but the point is it’s a long time and you shouldn’t miss it because you’re moping in your apartment alone!” She was serious about this. Great. That meant he had to go. 

“Hey I never said I wouldn’t come, I just… needed you to jog my memory real quick alright? I’ll be there, don’t worry about it.” He didn’t want to turn her down if he’d already agreed, “And when is it going to be again?” 

“Boss! C’mon!” She playfully smacked his arm and went on and on about the when, where, why, and how of this party. Juno tried to remember details to the best of his ability. He was going to have to put it in his phone later just in case the other guy needed to know. 

\- 

Peter woke up in a body that was not his own for the third time this week. Normally he’d be happy to wake up in Juno’s cozy little apartment and lay in bed for a bit before heading to the office to handle whatever convoluted mystery was thrown his way, but he didn’t wake up in Juno’s apartment. He was sleeping outside for some reason, and it was still dark out. He felt hungover and he realized that there were two empty bottles next to him. 

So yesterday had been one of Juno’s bad days. It happened sometimes, that Peter would wake up to the aftermath. Juno would drink far too much alcohol, more than any one person should feasibly be able to drink, possibly throw up, and then pass out in some position that would cause a pain in Peter’s back the next day. He sat up and had to hold his head in his hands. God. Juno really knew how to do a number on himself when he wanted to. As soon as the sharp pain subsided to a dull throbbing he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a graveyard. What the hell was he doing in a graveyard? 

His eyes adjusted to the dark and the blurriness of just waking up and he could see he was laying next to a headstone. It was small, humble, and the letters looked a little worn like somebody couldn’t be bothered to pay for better. Maybe they just couldn’t afford it. The headstone read “Benzaiten Steel” and nothing more. Well this just got much more macabre than Peter was expecting. 

“Hey, Jay?” 

Peter’s head whipped around to see Mick Mercury standing a little ways away. The speed at which he moved caused pain to flare up. He winced. 

“I thought I might find you out here. Rita called me and said you left the office pretty upset yesterday,” he pauses and then continues unceremoniously, “It’s gotta be coming up on, what? 18 years now, huh?” He said in nonchalantly, as if it were nothing. But Mick Mercury looked sad in the dawning light of morning. 

“I, uh, I…” Peter struggled to find a response to that. He didn’t know Benzaiten. Mick apparently did. Juno definitely did. Mick sighed, as if he were disappointed. 

“Oh c’mon Jay! This is the part where you’re s’posed to tell me to shut up about it! What has been with you lately?” Mick looks at him incredulously, “I’m happy you decided to spend time with me all of a sudden, but it’s like you’re not you anymore! Not that I liked when you told me to shut up or anything, but I don’t know? I just want my best bud back!” 

Peter really didn’t know what to say to him. He was just glad Juno wasn’t here for this, Juno wouldn’t be taking this nearly as well as he is. Still though, he felt guilty. He was just intruding on Juno’s life, mixing up his relationships. Maybe he had been doing more harm than good after all. 

“I, I’m sorry Mick. I really am-” he started but Mick cut him off. 

“No! No. You need to listen to me, Juno. I know I’m just your idiot childhood best friend, but you’ve got some serious issues, man. Do you seriously think you’re the only one that misses him? Because he was my friend too!” Mick is very heated and Peter still didn’t know what was happening, “You’re always doing stupid stuff like this! Going off on your own and getting drunk all the time, acting like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. Well you wouldn’t, you wouldn’t if you let your friends help you.” 

Mick is quiet for a minute and before he can begin again Peter speaks. 

“I’m sorry. Mick. I’m so sorry…” His voice was steady, but Peter was unsure of himself still. He knew Juno was shoving his friends away, and he knew about the lady’s drinking binges, but he never really processed how it was affecting the other people in Juno’s life. Based on this, Juno didn’t get it either. Mick takes a deep breath, and holds it for a second. An exercise for soothing anxiety that Peter knew well. 

“Listen. Jay. Do you remember when we went to the Oldtown Public Library and we found that old book about Earth mythology? After you and Ben figured out you were named after those goddesses?” Peter gave him and blank look and Mick shook his head. 

“You were named after some goddess of protectors and mothers, which I thought was ironic, because, well, y’know,” Peter didn’t know but he kept listening, “Benzaiten was the goddess of everything that flows? Like water, y’know, and time, and stuff like that. And Ben was always just like that, stuff just rolled off his back no problem. And what I’m trying to say is, like, Ben wouldn’t want you to still be like this. He wouldn’t want you to be drinking yourself to death,‘specially when you’ve still got friends to help you. Do you get what I’m saying?” 

Peter nodded even though he didn’t quite get it. Mick offered him a hand and he took it and together they pulled Peter up off the ground. Mick put an arm around his shoulders and started walking. Peter still felt sick from what Juno did to his body last night, but he was more concerned about the new information he learned about Juno. His brother Ben was dead, and Mick knew him when he was alive, and all these bad habits are a result of some leftover grief from several years ago. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t punch me like the last time I talked to you about Ben. You sure you’re not sick or something?...” Mick rambled on, but Peter was stuck deep and thought about a certain detective and about a goddess named Benzaiten.


End file.
